Tremendous Friendship
by Eternal Dew
Summary: JT comes home and finds Catherine in the warehouse. Unexpectedly they sit down and just talk for once. JT reveals a personal story about how he and Vincent met again after Afghanistan ten years ago. What was JT's reaction to his altered friend? Why did he not run? How much was Vincent in control back then? Will we ever know?


**Tremendous Friendship  
**_Synonyms: Tremendous - great, fantastic, grand _or_ frightful, terrible, awful... take your pick._

**A Beauty and the Beast (2012) fanfic  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. CW does. (I just hope they'll make a second season yay!)  
**

**Chapter One**

The rattling and rustling of gravel being compressed and spun away by car tires echoed through the air in the yard in front of the not-so-abandoned warehouse. With a tired sigh the car went silent and as the driver's door opened a few papers rustled by, carried by the wind getting stuck to the side of the person's leg who had just exited the car. The man shook his foot vividly to get rid of the irritation and tiredly reached back into the car to grab a large bag filled to the brim with papers and folders. He walked slowly to the front door. Fiddling with his keys a bit, he found the right one and tried to open the door. Much to his dismay the key would not turn and instead the door slid open by itself.

"Hello?" JT called out. "Anybody home?"

He listened intently to any possible sounds. Vincent never left the door unlocked. When he went outside he occasionally just jumped out of the window anyway. Had he just forgotten to lock after himself this time? JT was not sure what to expect from Vincent anymore. However, forgetting to lock the door when leaving was not okay with JT. What if Muirfield had caught him?! No, there would have been signs of struggle inside and outside. Hell, it would have been a miracle if the house was still standing after a confrontation with Vincent in that way. He probably had that irritating woman on his mind again, and had rushed out to do her every hint; JT thought and slowly made his way inside.

"Hello! You here buddy?" He called one more time.

Footsteps could suddenly faintly be heard on the loft but no answer came. His heart began to beat faster and faster. What if there really was a Muirfield agent here? Slowly he set his bag down and tip toed to where the baseball bat leaned against the wall. Armed and feeling a little safer, JT slowly made his way to the stairs leading to the loft. Carefully as not to be seen, he leaned around the corner and glanced up through the steel bars on the door.

"Holy shit!" JT yelled and jumped a good few inches of the ground when he had directly stared into a pair of glittering hazel eyes at the top of the stairs.

"Damn! I should have known it was you! How the hell did you get inside?!" JT shouted at the woman smiling as she walked down the stairs.

"I'm a detective. It's part of my job to get into people's places if necessary without a key." Catherine said calmly while her eyes still gleamed. She would never grow tired of messing with JT. His constantly sour mood and snappy remarks at her certainly did irritate her a lot. But she would never forget how much he had done and still did for Vincent. Such loyalty between friends was amazing and not just because of the special circumstances.

"What part of don't EVER come back here again because of the enormous risk you place both me and him in, do you not understand?" JT said very irritated. "Fine, you don't get it. But at least don't break your way in here when no one is home. Please!"

JT turned his back at her and threw the bat on the couch and went to pick up his bag. Catherine just watched him quietly. With a loud thud the heavy teacher's bag landed on the table and paper flooded out on the table and down on the floor. Catherine instantly bent down to help poor irritated JT pick them up.

"I get that it's risky. That's why I parked my car a few blocks away and walked here instead. By the way, your lock is way too easy to pick."

JT just glared down at the papers.

"Don't pick it then" came the curt comment. He muttered something that might have been a quick thanks when Catherine handed him the papers she had collected of the floor.

"Seems like you got a lot of work with you home. I thought you didn't work full time at the university." Catherine asked and leaned on one of the kitchen chairs.

JT continued to sort his messed up papers and heaved even more papers and books out of the bag.

"Well, someone's gotta work around here. Please do tell me if you see a work-ad looking for ex-military killing machines that could come in handy."

Taken back by that harsh reply, Catherine did not really know how to respond. Could JT really be irritated that he was the only one that had to work since Vincent obviously could not? Damn, she never thought JT could sink that low. She decided to confront him about it. Vincent could not help his situation. Sure, JT was a great friend but what if he really had begun to grown tired of this kind of life? How could he do that!

"Is that really how you see Vincent? As a burden and a freeloader?! He cannot help what happened to him. You of all people should know that! You've supported him for what, ten whole years!" Catherine had not meant to sound so angry but when JT spoke of Vincent like that something just burn within her.

JT had stopped in mid motion, staring blankly at her. What had triggered such an outburst from this woman? Wait, she thought he hated his situation and wanted Vincent out of his life? It was not his ideal way of living his life but JT would never abandon his best friend. Catherine knew nothing about their history of hardships together. Who was she to suddenly come into their lives and accuse him like this?

"I can't believe you just said that. You know nothing about our past hardships." He said flatly.

Catherine just stared at him and realized she had indeed overreacted when she caught JT's sadness and yet determination in his eyes. Suddenly she felt really stupid. She had known Vincent for like what, a few weeks while the two guys had more than ten years behind them. Regretting her outburst she looked away.

"You're right. I don't know much about your history together. I actually don't know anything."

JT sighed. Why had this frustrating woman wandered into his and his best friend's life so suddenly and turned everything upside down.

"Look, this isn't easy for any of us. But you can't just come bursting in, trying to make everything better over a few weeks. He – or rather we – have been in hiding for ten years. That's a long time and while Vincent seems to adjust to the change of things, I can't do it as easily. Sorry Catherine, but I've been looking out for him for too long to just let it all go and believe that somehow everything will just turn out okay. No matter how nice and good heated he really is, it does not change the fact that with provocation he turns into a genetically altered beast with enough strength to destroy everything in his path. Not to mention the fact that even if we find a cure on our own, Muirfield will come looking for him anyway to silence him."

JT looked up. Catherine just stood there and looking at him with a very hard to read expression. Then she smiled a small sad smile.

"You really are an amazing friend." She said in a small voice. "I never thought you'd say those things. I thought I had it kinda figured out how things worked between you two but now I understand that I can't even imagine the things you must have been through together."

JT's mouth curved upwards a little. He never thought that he would be able to stand up to this one hell of a woman this easily when it came to it. Yes, he had recognized just how amazing Catherine was in her own ways. She really was frustrating but at the same time actually a welcome fresh breeze in their lives.

Pushing his ordered stacks of papers to the side, he sat down at the table and leaned over to the refrigerator.

"I need a beer. You want one?" JT asked.

Eyeing him and wondering how JT was taking her last comment, Catherine nodded and sat down at the table as well. JT slid a bottle of beer across the table. A few minutes of silence passed while they sat there sipping beer, both absorbed in their own thoughts. Thinking about it, the two of them had never been in the same room for this long. Maybe that time a few days ago when they had desperately tried tracking the cellphone to lead them to where Vincent had decided to give himself up. It had happened so fast that neither of them actually remembered that they indeed had agreed on something before.

JT was thinking about how much had changed since Catherine had found them and started to regularly appear in their lives. No, not just appear, she was now involved and as it seemed not leaving. How JT felt about that he could not really decide. It was obvious that it would never be just the two of them anymore. A note of sadness vibrated in his chest but he was somehow okay with it. Things would never be the same but it did not mean that things would get instantly worse – unless Catherine did not attract more Muirfield agents. However, he knew it was not entirely her fault. It was not anyone's fault actually. It was bound to happen sooner or later. He hated it but he had always known they would be found. Luckily Catherine found them first.

JT thought about how close they were to loose Vincent for good a few days ago. The confrontation had indeed not been pretty. Even if they were Muirfield agents, JT did not like the fact that all of them had died. Taking another human life would always be a little disturbing. Everything had happened so fast, in a blur. It always pained and terrified him to see Vincent enraged and out of control. He never feared for his own life but for the aftermath. He glanced up at Catherine. She had only sipped a little of her beer and seemed to also think about some serious things. He wondered how she actually had reacted to the whole scenario. Sure she was a cop but if she never had seen it before it must have left something behind in her mind.

"So, um, how have you been since you know the Muirfield agents incident?" JT asked carefully.

Catherine jerked out of her deep thoughts. Did JT just ask her about her feelings since the day they had saved Vincent from making a horrible decision? When they had jumped out of the car and the first gun was fired everything had just gone too fast. She could not recall when Vincent had changed and engulfed himself in his beast-side, but she would never forget how fast and mercilessly all those agent's had died by his hands. She had taken out one agent herself but the way Vincent so easily could shift and once it was over, change back did frighten her a little, she confessed to herself.

"I mean, you and him seem to be on good terms again, but eh yeah, I just wondered if you, you know, really do feel fine." JT interpreted her silence as a sign of distrust but he genuinely did worry about her a bit.

"Um" she started. "We've talked since then. But yeah, I not really sure what I feel." She sat quite a few seconds to clear her head and find the next words.

"You don't have to tell me. I just thought you might be a little shaken since you saw, you know, him in full action. I know I was frightened the first time I witnessed something similar." JT stated and sipped his beer looking anywhere but at Catherine.

"Well, of course I've seen his beast-side before, but yeah it's true that it's the first time I've seen him like that." Catherine said and fidgeted with her bottle. She could not help it but her curiosity just grew and she had to ask JT about it.

"So, is it okay if I ask what happened the time you saw Vincent for the first time?" As she thought JT's eyes shot up and eyed her carefully. It seemed like not his favorite question but he did not seem mad.

"Uh, I guess, it's just such a long time ago. Although I would never forget the memory, it's just not something I like to think about too often." He said guardedly, silently hoping that she would drop it but knowing who he was dealing with, Miss Detective certainly would not.

"Well, since you asked and we're already sitting here and he's not home, I guess I could tell you the first time I saw Vincent after he came home from Afghanistan."

Catherine looked surprised at JT. She never thought he would tell her something important as how the two old friends met again ten years ago.

"If you want to tell me, I'm very happy to listen." She answered and took another sip of beer.

JT sighed and after a fast inner debate about why he even offered to tell her, he began.

"Well, I hoped but wasn't sure if I'd ever see Vincent again after he was deployed to Afghanistan…"

**A/N First Beauty and the Beast fanfic! PLEASE REVIEW!  
I know nothing much happened but it'll come, I swear. And yeah, this story will be Vincent and JT centered. Not much kissing, sorry ;)  
I've been thinking about how Vincent and JT met after Vincent came back, altered, from Afghanistan. What was JT's reaction? How/Why did he decide to help Vincent? How much was Vincent in control ten years ago? Did JT ever want to run from him? That's what I've been musing about. Please do tell me if you have any such musings yourself!**


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